Ancient Geeks

Blake's 7 was definitely ahead of its time. A BBC science fiction series chock full of political intrigue, interesting characters with unexpected arcs, crazy ideas, and plot twists, all wrapped up in a neat space opera package. It ran at the same time as classic Doctor Who, but it doesn't have the same recognition as the good Doctor's adventures. But it's definitely worth tracking down this somewhat lost (or temporarily misplaced) ...

Flash! Aaah-aah!

Steven and Tom journey back to 1980, when the big budget Flash Gordon movie premiered. Was it a camp classic? A post-Star Wars cash grab? A sincere homage to the comic strip? A weird amalgam of British, Italian, and American science fiction motifs? Something else? All of the above? Listen and find out.

Thrill to retro rocketships blazing across the screen! Cringe at the acting! Marvel at the incredibly colorful cos...

Look! Towering over the city! It's another episode of Ancient Geeks!

We discuss the first Godzilla movie, which is a powerful, compelling piece of film-making. No, really! If you haven't seen it, we'll tell you why the original Japanese movie is compelling, thought-provoking, and scary. We get into the interesting behind-the-scenes story of the earliest Godzilla movies, and how this series evolved during the course of its immediate...

We've seen the new Fantastic Four movie, and this episode contains all of our thoughts on the film, and then some! We discuss how good a movie it is, how good a Fantastic Four movie it is, and how good a comic book movie it is. Will it appeal to both comic book nerds and people who aren't comics fans? Will this movie help the MCU get back on its feet? 

We also have one of the liveliest debates between Tom and Steven in the history ...

What better way to celebrate the release of the Fantastic Four movie than to journey back to the 1980s, when John Byrne took over both the writer and artist roles for the Fantastic Four comic book. This was one of the best runs of any writer or artist over the 64 year history of the comic book, and Steven and Tom are eager to tell you why.

The FF family facing crisis after crisis! Science fiction galore! Doombots exploding! Galactu...

In this concluding episode of our Death Star-sized coverage of Andor, we look at this series through the lenses of political science and history (topics about which we know a few things). What are the important lessons from a galaxy far, far away about authoritarianism and rebellion here? How do the characters in this series epitomize the roles people play in real-world times of upheaval? How well does Andor depict the hard choices...

More Andor! Our discussion of the show continues with our analysis of season two. The Empire tightens its grip. The Rebel Alliance gains strength. Characters reach the final destinations of their story arcs. And in the process, we get the best Star Wars in a long, long time. It's John le Carré-level fiction, but with blasters and droids.

Hear our analysis of season two, and the series overall. Next episode, we'll get the political ...

Steven and Tom rushed to the movie theater, saw the new Superman movie, and now present their reviews! There's a spoiler-free section in the first part, followed by spoilers galore in the second, so listen carefully for the transition. 

Thrill as we give our opinions of how well this movie captures the essential Superman! Gasp as we disagree over how much we liked the movie! Hear how we compare James Gunn's Superman to the 1979 Chr...

What's it like to watch Andor, from the perspective of two lifelong geeks who were there for the premiere of the original Star Wars film? And who also have a deep interest in politics and history? That's the topic of the next three episodes of Ancient Geeks. In this episode, we talk about the first season of Andor.

How much did we like this show? (Answer: A lot.) How does it change our perception of Star Wars, including the first m...

Back in 1982, both Steven and Tom worried that Star Trek: The Motion Picture was the nail in the coffin of Star Trek. Much to our delight, Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan was everything that the first movie wasn't. Exciting scenes! Snappy dialogue! Surprisingly moving moments about aging and loss! Even more surprising acting (of the good kind) from William Shatner! And, of course, one of the best Star Trek villains, if not the best...

In 1979, Star Trek fans eagerly awaited the premiere of the first Star Trek movies, after Star Trek slid into reruns for several years. The movie had a big budget, a topnotch director, all the original cast, and the promise of a very Trek-ish story.

How did we feel about the movie, when it premiered? Did it seem like Star Trek had an ever brighter future after this film? Did we want to sport our own version of the pajama-like unifo...

After the original series of Star Trek concluded, it looked as though one of our favorite bits of SF had come to an end...Until surprise! Star Trek transformed into a Saturday morning cartoon! The same cast (almost), the same writers, the same everything, but now with even more alien aliens, wild new starship designs, and wacky plots!

Spock travels back in time to help his younger self! There's a giant clone of Spock! Satan lives a...

During the 1970s, a lot of people were deeply interested in all the weird things that might be out there. Bigfoot, UFOs, the Loch Ness Monster, UFOs, ghosts, ESP, ancient astronauts, the Bermuda Triangle, demonic possession...All of these bits of weirdness, and more, filled the movie and TV screens, magazines, and books. And our younger selves weren't immune to a fascination with the unknown.

To help us unpack the weird 70s, we hav...

We continue our coverage of the classic era of the X-Men with John Byrne's iconic run on the series. Some of the biggest moments in not just the X-Men, but comics in general, happened. The tragedy of the Dark Phoenix saga! The horror of Days Of Future Past! We also talk about why John Byrne is one of the best comic artists ever, why he was perfect for the X-Men, and how he captured the attention and admiration of our younger selves...

In the mid-70s, the X-Men were a largely forgotten team of teenage mutants, relegated to the back issue section of the comics store. With the release of Giant-Sized X-Men #1, that all changed. The revamped X-Men were a powerful mix of old and new that became the colossus of comics, taking the world of super-heroes by storm! 

Journey back with Steven and Tom to this first wave of X-mania, during the initial collaboration between Chr...

Geek culture and schlocky variety shows collide! When you watched Star Wars or read superhero comics, you probably didn't think, "Why isn't there more singing and dancing? And how about some comics doing schtick?" But the producers of 1970s TV variety shows thought that would be a good idea. It wasn't, and in this episode, we show you why.

Of course, we talk about the infamously cringey Star Wars Holiday Special...But there's so mu...

During the 1950s and 1960s, a combination of big ideas from science fiction, Cold War paranoia, and the sheer coolness of monsters inspired a generation of monster movies. Godzilla was only the start. Thrill at the rampages of giant atomic mutations (ants, birds, spiders, you name it), ready to wipe humanity from the face of the earth! Shiver as alien invaders walk among us! Plunge into the unknown corners of the world, and the mys...

Our first real episode discussed how Batman in the 60s and 70s played a big role in our early geek lives. Now, we jump ahead to the 80s and 90s, a golden age of Batman in the comics and on the screen. In now-classic series like The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Year One, A Death In The Family, Batman: The Cult, the writers and artists pulled out all the stops. Batman in a dystopian future! Robin dies! Batman loses his mind, repeated...

Put on your polyester shirts and bellbottom jeans, because it's time for Steven and Tom to journey back to the 1970s, when superhero TV shows were popular. You'd think that we would have been excited to see our beloved comic book characters translated to the small screen...But the results were mixed, at best. Wonder Woman, The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man, Captain America, The Six Million Dollar Man, and even Doctor Strange -- they'...